Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman (2009)

Meaning in no way to diminish the loss of Pat Tillman to his family, the striking aspect of this book is that once again Jon Krakauer has put wide-ranging, in-depth research together into an excellent piece of Non-Fiction, with a powerful message. No government, including that of the United States, can be trusted tol choose the truth over revealing deeply embarrassing information. It is crucial to take in news with an ear attuned to what motivations are involved, and to who is the source of the information. ( )

Tremendous reporting! The reader knows the outcome before page ! But, regardless, the book is so impressive (and engaging) because of all the background information that Krakauer must have had to uncover in the years following Tillman's death. Very good descriptions of the complexity and the ambiguity associated with USA's role in the Afghan war. ( )

Krakauer really knows how to piss you off reading a book of his. Regardless of your political view if you're not pissed at how the govt. used Pat Tillman's life & death, well, you're no better than the govt. itself ... ( )

As stated in the title, this is the odyssey of Pat Tillman, from athletic boy through high school, college, NFL, and into the army as an enlisted ranger. I've always wondered about his decision to leave the NFL for the army after 9/11, trying to imagine what kind of person he would be, but I probably wouldn't have read this if it hadn't be recommended to me. I'm glad I did.

First of all, it ends out that Pat Tillman is a surprising and fascinating person, not just an NFL star. (I'll leave the details up to you future readers.) Secondly, the tale is very well told and researched. Maybe most importantly, I learned about the rise of bin-Laden and Al-Quaeda and about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. All this was done in a way that wasn't dry or overwhelming; the story of terrorism is told chronologically alongside the always interesting story of Pat Tillman and his family. Of course, if you're looking for a book with a happy ending, this isn't it.

I'm rating this 4.5, taking off a half point because I got rather bogged down with names involved in the cover-up of the friendly fire investigation.

Incidentally, I listened to most of this, but switched to reading when I got to Tillman's final mission in Afghanistan. I definitely recommend taking advantage of the maps in the book at that point, but the narrator was excellent. ( )

Review: Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer.

Based on the story Jon Krakarer makes his point that perhaps the true hero’s of western culture always has been exploited, betrayed and let down by their governments, superiors and society. His opinions and comments are thought provoking, inspiring, and sometimes heartbreaking to the readers mostly based on ex-NFL player/ US Military Pat Tillman’s tragic short life.

Pat Tillman’s motivation for leaving the NFL and enlisting in the military was stunning to a lot of his fans. I don’t even think Tillman understood the true meaning behind it. In the book Tillman even had times when his thoughts were confusing. It was like he was already fighting a battle in his mind between what was right and what was wrong. He believed in principals and the possibility of trying to live up to them while also recognizing that it was too much to expect from anyone. He had times when he became unable too be clear in his own mind why he was doing what he was doing. When he was honest with himself, he had no idea why his inner self kept pushing him in the direction of doing the right thing in helping his Country.

Jon Krakauer supplies a lot of data on the enlisting process, boot camp, military procedures and protocols. Plus, the hardships these men and women go through being away from family and friends, learning to obey and follow strict orders, and going days without food, water or sleep. When Pat Tillman finally got to Afghanistan and later got into combat he found out it was a brand new kind of life over there. He started out on small maneuvers but after some time he and his troop moved up the line to places in the war zone. He didn’t care for some of the orders they were given but he followed through.

The day in question was the day his superior divided the men into two platoons, one going to check on a village and the other taking a broken down military vehicle in a different direction, to a pave road to be air lifted by a helicopter. Then the men were to turn around and meet back at the village. Then they got into a place called ambush alley and Tillman and another soldier got caught up in a friendly fire (shot at by your own people) and they tried to get their attention but they failed and were killed by Americans.

This was not unusual because it does happen, not frequently, but mistakes are made. What the problem was, are people in the defense department in USA tried to cover the incidence up. That was the sad part where our men fight for our country and the truth of how they died was shadowed over with promotions, medals and signed documents to their love ones that they died heroes. Jon Krakauer didn’t hold anything back when he wrote this book. He allowed his readers to hear the truth and who was behind the cover-up. Why do governments around the world think they have a right to hold back information and then years later we hear about all the discrepancy that goes on behind our backs? The only thing the superiors in command do is make our country look dishonest and hinder our freedom…..Governments do keep investigating issues and they repeatedly try to cover up any discrepancies that would make them look bad….

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